"Northwest to westerly winds becoming strong and gusty, reaching gale force at times during the afternoon and evening...". It was indeed very gusty. I was shivering as I walked home from the bus stop this evening. Shivering and famished. I secretly hoped that Quikong had already started cooking. Surprisingly, he has even finished cooking. When he cooks, we usually end up eating after 9pm. I'm not complaining because he's a great cook and has cooked elaborate meals in the past. As I tucked into the pasta, I realised why he was in such a hurry to finish cooking - a live football game was being televised. Quikong prepared a very delicious dinner that warmed me up quickly. He allowed me to post his recipe on one condition - that I write about Paul Newman's Own products. We usually make our own tomato sauce for pasta, but when we buy ready made pasta sauce for "emergency" situations (=whip up a meal quickly) it has to be Paul Newman's Own tomato sauce. Since 1984, Paul Newman has given more than $9 million to charities in Australia and New Zealand. All profits (after taxes) from the sale of his products worldwide are donated to charities. To date, this has exceeded $200 Million. If all of us buy one of his products every so often, imagine what a difference it makes for those who are less fortunate.
Here's Quikong's recipe. I'm sorry that I don't have exact quantities of the ingredients because I wasn't there when he cooked and he can't recall exactly what he did :-)
Garlicky Olive Prawn Spelt Penne
Serves 2
Half a jar (750g) of Paul Newman's Own Tomato Sauce (classic or organic marinara)
4-5 garlic cloves, minced EV olive oil
8 pitted kalamata olives, roughly chopped
16 raw prawns, shelled, deviend & tails removed
tobasco sauce or chilli flakes
fresh basil, roughly torn
250g spelt penne
Method:
Over medium heat, place olive oil in a saucepan. Saute garlic in olive oil till fragrant. Add prawns & cook till prawns turn pink. Add tomato sauce, olives & tobasco sauce/chilli flakes. Simmer & allow flavours to mingle. In the mean time, cook the spelt penne accordingly. When pasta is almost al dente, throw the basil in the sauce. Drain pasta, place pasta into two large bowls, spoon sauce over pasta and serve immediately. This will be our contribution to Pasta Presto Night #19 hosted by Ruth.
18 comments:
Nora, what a wonderful dish your husband put together!
It's a shame we don't have Paul's products here in Brazil - such a great actor (not to mention he was so handsome back in the day) with a beautiful heart.
Here in Rhode Island we have a local bottled tomato sauce that rivals Paul Newman's -- it's called Mayor's Own Marinara Sauce, and the proceeds support Providence schools. I think it's fine to take a bit of help from good-quality storebought products every now and then.
I'm not safe! Supper has been eaten and something as tempting as this appears. Hungry again !! Looks fab :)
Delicious! I'm a big fan of prawns and am totally addicted to pasta. Thank you!
It's good to come home to a hot meal on any day but with the weather conditions you mentioned, even better.
I never liked ready-made salad sauce and stuff like that - but when I first tried one of Paul Newman's sauces, I was pleasantly surprised! Isn't it great that his stuff not only tastes better but also does make a difference!
Hey Nora, how nice to come home and have supper ready! It's looks awesome, too. I have never tried spelt pasta, is it heavy?
That looks like one hearty meal for winter! I've never seen spelt pasta either. Is that a little like wholemeal pasta?
I've always enjoyed Newman's Own
when it's not my own. We get the full range of products here in the U.S. and have just discovered he has cat food! Now we have to see if Willem will take to it. : )
Is spelt similar in texture and taste to whole wheat? I've never had it, but it sure looks good in this great dish. I love pasta, and would like to add this to my pantry.
Patricia – It was pretty good, I wished he made more so that i could have had the leftovers for lunch today. Yes, Paul’s quite a charming man ;-)
Lydia, it’s good to know that there are other companies out there that also sell their products in view of donating the profits to charity.
Kelly-Jane & Wendy - Quikong says thanks.
Cynthia – You should have seen my smile when I walked in and realise that our dinner was ready. And tonite, he made crumble! What’s going on….? He obviously has been watching and learning.
Eva – Like you, I don’t like “commercial” brand sauces or salad dressings, but I too was surprised that Paul’s Own products were pretty good.
Aimée, Wok & Spoon & Susan – Spelt pasta has a similar taste & texture to whole wheat pasta – it has more bite than durum wheat pasta and has a slight nutty flavour. The flavour does vary slightly depending on the brand - I prefer organic when I can. Spelt pasta also has less gluten, so it doesn’t really get as sticky as regular pasta. I’m still experimenting to see what other types of pasta sauce would go well with it.
You are so lucky to have someone cook for you. Let me check out spelt pasta soon.
I am going to have to try this recipe out. I have everything on hand and need an idea for supper!
Nora, you are indeed lucky to have a partner who cooks. Mine does a mean bbq and a delicious French Toast, but other than that...it's up to me.
What a great dish to share with Presto Pasta Nights - shrimp, garlic in a tomato sauce...what could be better.
Check back for the roundup Friday afternoon.
Nora--I'm a big fan of starting with jars of tomato sauce, then doctoring them. Plenty of things I cook from scratch, but red sauce still pretty much tastes like red sauce, no matter how noble or humble its beginnings.
And THANK YOU for removing the tails of the prawns! What is it with the obsession for leaving them on? I'm mean, it's a great handle if you're eating them as finger food. Otherwise, it's very inelegant to try to remove them in a dish like this. Still, you see chefs do it all the time.
hmm...I have to try this method. Usually I cook it with cream. After I brown the garlic with olive oil, put in the prawns and sauté it a while with the garlic and olive, then add in the crème fraîche with a bit of water from the pasta. It's very yummy.
That looks fabulous. I love shrimp fixed like that! It looks delicious--and what a nice husband. :)
Tigerfish, Ruth & Sher - Thanks for dropping by. yes, i am lucky that he enjoys cooking, and he understands my obsession with food :-)
Kristen, I hope you'll enjoy this meal as much as I did. I like it a bit spicy, so I add extra chilli flakes.
Terry B, my partner hates tails on prawns so he always cooks it "tail-less". I think restaurants keep tails on because it makes the prawn look bigger ;-)
The Cooking Ninja - your recipe does sound yummy. I have a creamy version similar to yours but it has a secret ingredient and I'll write about that soon.
Hey Nora I tried this one today and it is even more delicious than it seems to be . Thanks for sharing this recipe
Post a Comment